Sign-in-the-sky trips up parkers near Curtis High School

STATEN ISLAND -- Every day, when Curtis High School lets out, it's common to see teachers, students and school staff ripping bright orange parking tickets from behind their wiper blades, then pacing back and forth on Hamilton Avenue near Daniel Low Terrace trying to find the sign that was supposed to have warned them off.

IRVING SILVERSTEINJean Larocca, a school aide at Curtis, tried to fight the ticket she received but lost.Unless they crane their necks and look skyward, they'll miss it: The red "No Standing" sign is easily 15 feet off the ground, joined to a telephone pole, situated underneath a jutting electrical box and fully visible only from one side.

The sign -- which according to the city Department of Transportation went up March 3 -- has engendered a good bit of fury in the Curtis community over the equivalent of a "gotcha" gag.

"If you're going to put up a new sign, at least make it where it's visible," said Irene Larssen, a secretary at the school for 18 years, who often arrives before dawn in her Volvo and had, until last month, parked in the spot dozens of times without being slapped with the $115 violation. "If you're used to parking there, you don't get out of your car and look up in the sky. Let the sign be where you can see it."

According to the city Department of Transportation, the minimum height for signs is seven feet, and since this one is well above that benchmark, it is considered appropriate.

There is no regulation governing maximum height for street signs, but, after being questioned, DOT officials said they may consider putting in additional signs.

The "no standing" regulation went into place to increase visibility in the area, which is known for its before- and after-school traffic jams, and pedestrians crossing the streets in awkward spots. Motorists must leave a space of about 15 feet from the awkwardly rounded corner at the end of the block. Any car just a nose past the pole will get a ticket, say Curtis staff.

"When I saw the spot, I was wondering if it was too good to be true," said English teacher Michelle Castelli, who often circles the neighborhood for upward of a half hour looking for a place to park, in a Curtis ritual that is much more Brooklyn and Manhattan than Staten Island.

"At first I felt stupid when I got the ticket," said Ms. Castelli, who was slammed last Wednesday. "Now I said see it's not just me. I'm thinking am I supposed to crane my head up in the air?"

For school aide Jean Larocca, the ticket came as such a shock, she went to fight it. But she lost.

"I told the judge how high the sign was and brought pictures; but she said that's up to the DOT," said Ms. Larocca, who earlier this week, posted a notice on the school time clock warning other employees about the spot. "It makes me so upset for the students, teachers and staff. I don't want them to have to go through something so unfair."